Two Sides of Hell

The sequel to Two Sides of Earth. This novel continues in the future where Korbin and Taylor Arcana now have a teenage daughter Isabella Arcana. She finally turns 16 and is about to adventure into a Hell that is currently shifting it's shape for the future. Her life of trials and triumph is just beginning...
View table of contents...

"Good. Anyways, as
Isabella Arcana answered these are the remaining strong faction
of houses in Hell. There are lesser devils and higher devils but
these are the main houses that hold a sense of royalty and spots
for the political market. Due to the collaboration of Lucifer,
Arcana and Belphegor the Underworld now has a stronger place of
organization, education, ethics, science and more. One could even
say we're mimicking the humans style to advance our own
kind..."

That's right. My
father, Korbin Arcana, has taken a lot of risky steps in his
short time here. Well, marrying into the fifth strongest
household in Hell would put you at some point of authority.
Still, being able to become close to the Devil King Azure Lucifer
my father has been able to push Hell to new directions. His
ideals match that of Azure Lucifer's and now we have schedules,
ethics, schools and sciences that nearly copy the humans. Then
again, that's probably because my father was once a
human.

◊

"Oh, back from class
already Isabella?" my father asked me as I opened the door to our
mansion. My father, Korbin Arcana, is wearing a black royal-like
robe. The robe is trimmed with delicate brown fur and underneath
the robe he wears a black suit combined with a red shirt and no
tie. The suit is usually undone and it's combo'ed with black
pants, with chains on each side shaped like a 'U' on each
end.

"You would know,
you're the one who opened up the schools for public use." My
father simply smiled with a slight chuckle while laying back in
one of the main halls chairs.

"True but it's good to
engage in conversation with my beautiful daughter."

"D-Dad! Stop
it!"

"Haha! I can't help
from speaking the truth!" I walked towards my dad who was
beckoning me to come near him with his hand. Standing next to him
I can see a very passionate smile.

"Thank you dad." He
only nodded in response but soon spoke up once I let
go.

"Now that you're
sixteen, you're old enough to have your own
servants."

"Servants?"

"I'm sure they've
taught you at school. At least I hope so. Anyways, when devils of
higher ranking families turn a certain age they're allowed to
have servants. The servants are limited and bound by contracts.
You remember how the contracts work right?"

"The [Contract Card
System] isn't it?"

He nodded in response.
"That's correct. The [Contract Card System]. This is a system
that is relatively new and I developed it along with Syris
Belphegor and had it approved by Azure Lucifer. There are five
cards in total but taking out the King, that would be you, you're
left with four [Contract Cards]. Queen, Jack, Ace and Joker.
You're the King so you're already contracted to the King Card but
now you are free to own the four other cards to get servants of
your own."

"Father I...I don't
really like the servant idea."

"I know Isabella but
I'm sure if it's you, you'll treat them more like family than
'servants'. That's alright isn't it?" He held out the four cards
prompting me to grab them. I grabbed the four cards holding them
in my hand. I was about to slip them into my pocket until he took
out the King Card and showed it in front of me.

"Notice how this card
says King with our royal crest and the other four cards are
blank? That's because they're not contracted yet. Once they do,
their type will be decided upon their traits and your own
feelings of what you believe they should be." He then handed me
my card and the five were placed into my pocket.

"Now that you're
sixteen you're also allowed to leave Hell and go to the human
world. Though..." I immediately perked up in curiosity and stared
at my father with pleading eyes.

"Though as long as you
stay out of trouble it wouldn't hurt to go there at least
once."

Yes! I've always
wanted to see the human world where dad's from! He says it's
really different from here and I've heard so many stories how
could I not want to go?

"But...You have to
conceal your wings and tail while you're there. Well, I guess
that doesn't matter much since you don't usually have them out
anyways. No magic, no attacking and follow the rules of the human
world. I've told you most of them since you were a child so I
think you'll be fine."

It's right then
footsteps could be heard from behind us. We both turned around to
see it's my mother, Taylor Arcana, the woman who invited my
father to this world. She's wearing a similar royal-like gown,
sewn in a light purple that descends to her feet. It's trimmed in
the same delicate brown fur at the cuffs and bottom of the dress.
Her lush green hair is folded in the back and cascades, only
complimenting her crimson eyes. Despite being older than father,
my mother still holds ultimate beauty even amongst the most high
class devils.

"Don't be so rough on
her Korbin."

"I'm not being rough,
I'm just making sure she's prepared is all."

"Still as worrisome as
always huh?"

"I don't need to lose
another Bell..." my mother put on a smile that feels like she
gave in and gently kisses father's head.

"She'll be fine. Trust
her Korbin."

"Taylor you know I do,
I just-"

"Shush. This is a
woman's time to talk."

"..." My father knew
at this point he couldn't retaliate. In fact no one can retaliate
to mother. She may be older now but she's apparently still as sly
and fiery as she was before I was born. According to father at
least.

"You'll be fine right
Isabella?"

"Yeah! I know the
human world can be tough but if you survived in it I can
too!"

"Do you have somewhere
on Mid Land you specifically want to go to dear?"

"Mhm! I want to go to
where father grew up." When I said that the room fell slightly
silent until father spoke up.

"I won't say you
can't. You'll end up going anyways but that town is filled with
supernatural phenomenon. Since you plan to go there be extremely
careful. Got it?"

I nodded. I know how
dangerous it could be. It's where everything started for him. But
I've heard stories about it for years how could I possibly not
choose Clairview as my first destination? Father said not to
bring weapons but I'm quite proficient in magic use so I
shouldn't be in too much trouble even if I do run into
problems.

◊

A few minutes later in
the garden plaza outside, mother has prepared a travel portal
from here to Mid Land, Earth. She handed me a card and informed
me it's to teleport back. I just have to put magic power into the
card. I placed that card into the same pocket as the [Contract
Cards] and stepped into the intricate portal on the ground. What
felt like quicksand sucking me up, I felt my entire being
transporting itself into a different location. It's a weird
feeling that only lasted for a little while. Opening my eyes, my
vision is pure white for a few seconds and then the world began
to create as the whiteness faded. Tall concrete skyscrapers,
green trees filled with life, humans walking on the streets, the
sun and the clouds, it's all such a new experience that's so
refreshing. The Underworld doesn't have things like the sun or
clouds but an artificially create one from magic and technology,
but this is the real one! It's so bright and the heat could be
felt on my skin.

I began walking down
the street. Humans are everywhere! Father is right their numbers
far passes ours thirty fold! Boards of advertisements for
products and stores that humans shop at filled the streets. It's
no wonder mom lived here for so long before coming back! It feels
like true peace here, like a base of paradise! I wish I had a
notebook with me, I'd definitely start jotting down notes of this
place! Following directions father wrote down for me, I came
across a tall building with many windows.

"So this is the
apartment complex where dad and mom both lived? It's vastly
smaller than our home!"

Continuing my walk
around the town, I remembered something father told me before I
left.

"Whatever you it is
you do, don't go to the park near the apartment complex. You can
go anywhere in the town but not that park. Do you
understand?" He was scarily serious...I wonder why can't I go
to a park? I know I should listen to him yet I can't pass up this
opportunity to see everything! I ran the opposite direction of
the apartment complex and soon found that park entrance that he
didn't want me to go to.

"Sorry dad, but I
can't help but be curious!" I walked through the entrance into
the park. It's honestly really beautiful. Tree's and flowers
blanketed the area in a beautiful bouquet of nature. I sat on one
of the benches in the park and stared at the tree canopy's. I
wish the Underworld had this many tree's!

"What're you lookin'
at?" I heard a male voice speak behind me, tilting my head back I
see a boy roughly my age looking down at me. I jumped startled by
his sudden appearance and accidentally headbutted
him.

"O-Ow..." That really
hurt! Why was he so close?!

"Jeez...What lady
headbutts a guy the first second she meets him?"

"How rude! It was you
who startled me!"

Finally getting to
look at him, his attire seemed to be a little different from the
other humans. His hair is pure white and his eyes a radiant
bright blue. His outfit is a dark blue jacket with a zipper and
flaps at the top that go outward from the neck. A white shirt is
underneath the jacket and thick gold colored bracelets are on
each of his wrists. He's wearing navy blue cargo pants sporting
multiple pockets, a white belt around the pants and brown boots
that reach up to the mid calve area with two belt straps on each
boot. Though perhaps the strangest part is a long bag on his back
held by a strap that goes around his body.

"So, what's your name?
Never seen you here before." He suddenly asks me. Calm down, I
just have to respond normally.

"I-Isabella. I'm just
touring is all."

"Ah, well I'm Dust.
Dust Marrow. Nice to meet ya."

"Yeah..."

"Still, this town is
pretty boring to be touring around here." He looks all around him
as if viewing the area himself.

"My father and mother
lived here when they were young so I wanted to see the town where
they lived."

"Oh! That's different
then. How about I give you a tour then?"

"T-That's nice of you
but I've seen most of the town already. I just really wanted to
see this park. It's beautiful" I smile earnestly and for some
reason Dust turned red.

"Something wrong?
You're a little red."

"W-what? No, nothing,
nothing's wrong!"

"You sure?" I walked
closer to him and suddenly his eyes turned serious and he glared
at me.

"Yes...?" I'm
confused. Did I say something abnormal?

"You...I didn't feel
it when I was that close to you before because you hit me out of
nowhere but..."

I don't understand.
What's going on? What did he feel? Also, sorry about hitting you,
I was just really startled!

"You're not human are
you?"

"!!" I stepped back in
shock. How? How did he figure it out? My tail and wings aren't
even showing!

"You seem a bit
confused, let me explain. See, one of my parents is an ancient
hero. So I can generally feel disturbances in energy. Though I've
never felt energy like this before, I can clearly tell it's not
human. Are you a devil?"

"W-Wait! I'm not here
to fight! I just wanted to see the town!"

"Devils always lie and
make excuses, that's what we heroes have been
taught!"

Hero? What is he
talking about? Is he some hero that is bent on destroying my
kind? He took the bag off his back and threw it off, revealing a
sharp brandished long sword. That sword...It's definitely not a
normal one. There's a strong energy coming from it!

"You feel it right?
This sword is imbued with the power of light. The very power to
destroy evil like you!"

"Please wait! I'm not
evil! I'm honestly just visiting! What kind of hero doesn't
listen to other people?!"

"You're not a person,
you're a devil!" He charged at me with the sword ready to slice.
I created a barrier of magic to deflect the attack. He continued
to slice relentlessly forcing me to continuously create various
layers of magic walls to block his shots. His attacks are too
much! I can't keep making shields forever! And I left my rapier
at home, damn it! I was about to release my wings to fly away but
then he stopped and pointed behind him.

"Gonna fly in this
public view? I don't think that would be a very good
idea."

"You bastard! What did
I ever do to you?"

"You were born a devil
that's what!"

"Are devils really
that bad to you!? Are we really in your way? Are we HONESTLY
doing anything bad to you right now?!"

"W-Well no
but..."

"I just wanted to see
the human world for once! Is that such a crime? Is it such a
crime to explore to the world?!"

"Argh! Damn it, shut
up you stupid demon!"

I used magic to make
my fingernails longer and sharper, almost like ten daggers in my
hands. This is the best I can do for now! I charged at him this
time. He's a little off guard but quickly fixes himself and
slices horizontally. I block with all my fingernails. Twisting
around his body elegantly I slashed his side. His clothes were
ripped and blood could be seen slowly trickling down from his
cuts.

"Tch, you're better
than I thought for a clumsy devil."

"I'm not clumsy!" I
charged at him again, spinning my body rapidly, my nails cut and
dug into the tissue of his skin. He held the deepest wound with
one hand and fell on his knee.

"Damn it...I guess I
still need more training. Not!" He charged arrows of light in his
hands and shot them towards me. I dodged and weaved through them
but one grazed my right shoulder forcing me to hold the wound in
pain. It burns! It burns like if I just touched a scorching hot
pot! It really hurts!!

"Don't take us heroes
lightly!"

"I don't care! I just
want to go home! I don't want this!"

"How dare you try to
run away from battle! Are you a coward?!"

Damn it! He's REALLY
starting to annoy me now! I dashed at him with unhuman speed. His
face is that of complete shock. I pulled my hand back and stabbed
into his stomach with all five of the fingernails on my right
hand. I could feel that they punctured through his body and out
the other end. I released my hand and stared at him with pain in
my eyes.

"Why...Why'd you make
me have to do that?"

"B-Because...You're a
devil and..."

"Who cares about any
of that! I didn't want to kill anyone! I...I..." I fell to my
knees and stared at my fingertips covered in blood. His blood. A
humans blood. I didn't want any of this! I just wanted to visit
the town!

"Are you...Crying
devil?"

"Of course I am! I
killed a person! All I wanted to do was visit the town my parents
once lived...And now...I did this! This is the worst birthday
ever..."

"Birth...Day?"

"Yes...And now it's
the worst one I ever had. I waited for this day for so many years
and now look...I'm so sorry. But I didn't want to
die..."

I couldn't help but
cry. I waited for so long. I was finally going to be sixteen, see
the human world and become a contractor. But now...I killed
someone. A human. What's father going to think? I can't bear to
tell him the truth... I felt a tug on my shirt.

"Don't cry...Isabella.
It's...My own fault. Maybe I should have listened to you. Instead
of being...Ignorant. Don't feel bad...This is my own fault. Heh,
I've really lost a lot of blood..."

His body soon went
limp and fell to the floor. I stood up horribly shocked. A
[Contract Card] fell out of my pocket from the sudden movement
and one landed on his hand covered in blood. A shining light was
then emitted from the card. The card levitated itself into the
sky in front of me. I grabbed it noticing the royal crest of my
Arcana family and the words Joker. Wait...

I looked back at the
body of Dust. His hand begun to twitch and he slowly began to
move once again. He's...Alive? He pushed himself up sitting down,
looking at his chest the wounds begun to heal and close up. Did
he just become...Contracted?

"I'm...Alive? But I
swear I died! I even saw Heaven and everything!"

"It's...Because of
this." I showed him the card and he took it with
confusion.

"A
card?"

"Not just any card, a
[Contract Card]. It fell on your body when you died and...I guess
it accepted your blood on the card and you became one of my
servants."

"Wait...Doesn't that
mean-"

"Yeah. You're a devil
now."

"...HUH?!"

◊

Using the card mother
gave me, I teleported both me and Dust to Hell. Arriving in the
same garden from earlier mother and father were waiting for me.
They noticed an unfamiliar guy with me and that I was covered in
wounds. From my father I could feel a strong energy surging and
mother remained surprisingly composed. Though, I'm not quite sure
what she thinks right now...

◊

"So
this...Guy...Attacked you, you killed him in self defense and now
he's contracted to you. What's more is, he has the blood of a
hero flowing in him and he's now a devil. That's the gist of
it?"

"R-Right. I'm sorry
father I didn't listen!" He sighed and looked at me with
passionate eyes.

"It's alright. I'm
just glad you made it back safe and sound. I'm sorry you had to
go through this rough experience alone. Next time I will go with
you the Earth."

"Y-Yes..." I guess it
would be safer with dad. Still it feels like a bit of a
punishment...

"And as for you,
'hero'."

"Y-YES!?" Dust is
clearly jittery. He's in a new world for him, one he always
thought was evil and what's worse is that he's now contracted to
such a high devil family. Alse...I'd be scared in front of father
like this too.

"I won't comment on
the fact you attacked my daughter and intended to kill her since
she in turn killed YOU. Also considering the fact I was once a
human AND that you're now contracted to our family, I have even
less say in the matter. So I'll just talk as a father. If you
DARE as lay another hand on my daughter, I'll have your life in
Hell literally turn into it's meaning. So be a good boy from now
on." With that my father stood up and walked away. He's clearly
mad, the difference in how he treated me and how he treated Dust
is as clear as the difference between black and
white.

This time mother
walked forward and patted my head gently.

"Welcome home
Isabella. How's your birthday?"

"...It was a little
scary but, since I didn't 'technically' kill anyone I feel
better. Thanks mom." She hugged me tenderly and I hugged her
back. Father's always been kind to me and so has my mother. In a
way, I'm very blessed to have such a caring family.

"U-Uhm. Excuse me."
Dust shakily spoke.

"Yes?" My mother turn
to him.

"S-So, I'm a devil now
right?"

"That's
right."

"And this is where the
Arcana family lives?"

"Yes, that's also
right."

"So, does that mean I
have to live here too?"

"That's correct. We
have many rooms for guests, but I have prepared a room for you.
Initially my husband, Korbin, wanted you to sleep in the eighth
floor of the basement but I told him a servant needs to be close
to their master so he changed his mind. You're room is the first
on the right upstairs. Now it's been a long day, the two of you
should get some rest."

With that, the long
day has passed and it's now night. The Underworld doesn't
technically have a night but we have an automated sun and moon
for a day and night cycle mimicking the human time. This is a
concept also developed by my father and approved for by Azure
Lucifer, the Devil King.

I turned to my side to
see Dust still confused and silent. I walked up to him and he
promptly backed away. I guess that's understandable...I hung my
head in rejection.

"S-Sorry. I'm just not
used to this. You know, devils and all. Well, I guess I am a
devil now...I wonder what my mom and dad are gonna think
tomorrow? I seriously hope everything turns out
alright."

"I'm sorry, this is
all my fault..." He shook his hands.

"No no! The fault is
all mine. I...I was too preemptive. This is my just deserts.
Plus, I've been given a new life. I really have no right to
complain haha. Still, I always thought devils were evil and I had
to exterminate them and everything. Guess times have changed a
bit."

I turned around and
looked out the window at the setting sun with melancholic
eyes.

"No. Things haven't
changed too much. It's true my father and a few of his political
partners are helping to change Hell for the better. To make it
more accessible for all devils, to establish education, science,
medicines, technology and more but there are a lot of devils that
still contract humans for selfish needs and goals. There are
still devils that pillage and murder. There are still devils of
high class that think they can rule Hell with power alone. It's
just that my family happens to be from a more peaceful side.
Probably because my dad was once a human and my mother spent a
lot of time in Mid Land. So in a way you're still
right."

"I see...But, if it's
here, I really don't mind being a devil ya know? Despite how I
treated you, your father and mother still took me in. Then
again...They had no choice, even so I really felt kindness when
they were talking to you. I thought, 'If all devils were like
this, maybe humans and devils could co-exist' or something like
that." He turned to me with a naïve, bright smile. I couldn't
help but smile back. That's because I agree. If all devils were
like my family, perhaps we could co-exist with humans. Maybe even
the angels...There would be true peace.

◊

"Is this little shack
really your house Dust?" My father, Korbin Arcana, questioned the
little house that's not even as big as our storage
space.

"Yeah, it's not as
fancy as your mansion but it's still my home."

Dust opened the door
and let us in. His home is very close kept and peaceful. Even I
wouldn't mind living here.

"Mooom? Daaad? Huh,
where did they-" Suddenly loud stomping could be heard from
upstairs. All of a sudden a beautiful blond woman with bright
blue eyes like Dust's ran down the stairs from the second floor
and tackled Dust to the ground in a big tight hug.

"Wha-hey! Stop it mom!
I brought guests and have something to say!"

"How could you leave
home and not return alllll night! Your mother was really really
worried you know!"

"Sorry mom...Things
happened. Can we all sit down so we could talk? Also where's
dad?"

"That's right, you did
say you have guests. Your father is out today, though he might be
back later this afternoon if you're guests are staying that
long." His mother looked at me and father with serious eyes that
soon broke out into a bright smile.

"How sly of you Dusty
boy to bring home a beautiful young lady. And who's this handsome
man?"

"This is Isabella
Arcana and her father Korbin Arcana. They're sorta rich and
famous."